In silver halide photographic materials, the photographic emulsion layers or other layers are often colored for the purpose of absorbing a light of a particular wavelength range. The layers to be colored are often composed of a hydrophilic colloid, and therefore, a water-soluble dye is generally incorporated into the layer to color the same. The dyes used for the purpose are required to satisfy the following conditions.
(1) They have a pertinent light-absorbability in accordance with the purpose for using them. PA1 (2) They are photochemically inactive. Precisely, they do not impart any chemically unfavorable influences to the properties of the silver halide photographic emulsion layers; for example, they do not cause lowering of sensitivity, fading of latent images or fogging in the photographic emulsion layers. PA1 (3) They are decolored or are dissolved and removed during the photographic processing step so that they do not cause any harmful extra-coloration in the photographic materials processed. PA1 R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group or an aryl group; PA1 Q.sub.1 and Q.sub.2 each independently represents an aryl group; PA1 X.sub.1 and X.sub.2 each independently represents a divalent linking group or a bond; PA1 Y.sub.1 and Y.sub.2 each independently represents a sulfo group or a carboxyl group; PA1 L.sub.1, L.sub.2 and L.sub.3 each independently represents a methine group; PA1 m.sub.1 and m.sub.2 each independently represents 1 or 2; PA1 n represents 0, 1 or 2; PA1 .sub.1 and p.sub.2 each independently represents 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4; and PA1 s.sub.1 and s.sub.2 each independently represents 1 or 2; ##STR4## where R.sub.7 represents a chlorine atom, a hydroxyl group, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, an alkylthio group, --OM (in which M is a monovalent metal atom), Or --NR.sup.I R.sup.II or --NHCOR.sup.III (in which R.sup.I, R.sup.II and R.sup.III are each independently a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group or an aryl group); and PA1 R.sub.8 the same meaning as R.sub.7 except that it cannot represent a chlorine atom; ##STR5## where R.sub.9 and R.sub.10 each independently represents a chlorine atom, a hydroxyl group, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group or --OM (in which M is a monovalent metal atom); Q.sub.3 and Q.sub.3 ' each independently represents a linking group represented by --O--, --S-- or --NH--; PA1 L.sub.4 represents an alkylene group or an arylene group; and PA1 l.sub.1 and l.sub.2 each independently represents 0 or 1.
Many efforts have been made by those skilled in the art to find dyes which satisfy these conditions. In particular, oxonolepyrazolone dyes have been intensively studied because they have been considered to satisfy the necessary characteristics. They are disclosed in British Patents 506,385, 1,177,429, 1,278,621, 1,311,884, 1,338,799, 1,385,371, 1,467,214, 1,433,102 and 1,553,516; JP-A-48-85130, JP-A-49-114420, JP-A-55-161233 and JP-A-59-111640 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an unexamined published Japanese patent application); and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,247,127, 3,469,985, 4,078,933, 2,533,472 and 3,379,533.
However, some of these dyes are known to have drawbacks that they have a noticeable influence on spectrally sensitized emulsions in that they cause further spectral sensitization of the emulsions in the unnecessary range or they often cause desorption of sensitizing dyes thereby lowering the sensitivity of photographic emulsions, although they do not have so much influence on photographic emulsions themselves.
In addition, some of these dyes have been found to remain in the processed photographic materials after the materials are processed by rapid processing method which is frequently been utilized. In order to overcome these problems, use of dyes having a high reactivity with sulfite ion has been proposed. In such case, however, the stability of the dyes in a photographic film is not sufficient so that the concentration of the dyes therein decreases with time and, as a result, the desired photographic effect are not obtained. Accordingly, the dyes are unsatisfactory for photographic use.
On the other hand, in printing color photographic materials, gelatin is mostly related to the binder used in the materials, and a hardening agent for the binder is incorporated into the material together with the binder.
The characteristics required for the hardening agents include a rapid hardening activity, not causing fogging, etc. on silver halides, causing no problems related to sanitary labour conditions or any environmental pollution, good water solubility, easiness of synthesis and low cost.
Under the circumstances, investigation of printing color photographic materials has begun from the side of hardening agents of vinylsulfone compounds, ethyleneimine compounds, epoxy compounds, N-methylol compounds and cyanuric chloride compounds. In particular, the cyanuric chloride hardening agents described in JP-B-47-6151 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication), and JP-A-48-19220, JP-A-51-78788, JP-A-52-128130, JP-A-52-130326 and JP-A-56-1043 were found to satisfy almost all the aforesaid characteristics and were therefore considered excellent.
However, when silver halide photographic materials contain both an anti-irradiation dye and a hardening agent, two problems occur. One is that the solubility of the anti-irradiation dye in development decreases in some cases, depending upon the characteristics of the coexisting hardening agent, so that the whiteness in the non-image background part is also lowered. The second is that the combination of anti-irradiation dye and hardening agent would cause an advise influence of photographic characteristics of the photographic materials, such as desensitization or increase of fog, during storage of from preparation to use of the materials. Accordingly, it has been difficult to maintain the initial photographic characteristics of photographic materials during or after storage of the materials.